


Adventures at Space Camp

by ValBirch



Series: All the AUs [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Aliens, Multi, Summer Camp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 17:23:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10858614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValBirch/pseuds/ValBirch
Summary: Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Will attend Space Camp in the summer of 1983. While there they meet the fiery Max and her quiet best friend, El. When Will goes missing during a hike, the boys learn there’s much more to El than meets the eye and the new friends must band together to find Will.





	1. Parousia

Before Nancy Wheeler had even fully put her car in park, four antsy and eager teenaged boys flung its doors open and bustled out into the bright sunlight of a warm July afternoon, their sneakers kicking up dust from the dry footpath she had temporarily parked on. Nancy took a moment to close her eyes and press her head against the steering wheel. It had been two and a half hours of bickering and loud chatter since they had left Hawkins and she desperately needed a painkiller for the pulsing in her head. _Might as well get used to it,_ her brain reminded her, _you’ve got two weeks of this lined up._ Still, Nancy maintained that the headaches were worth the experience she’d be able to put on to her college applications in the Fall.

Sighing, Nancy turned the car off and slid out of the driver’s seat while the boys, her younger brother and his three best friends, fidgeted around the vehicle. They were watching the dirt road that looped through the dense woods back to the highway with intent eyes, clearly waiting.

“Jonathan will be here with your bags soon,” she assured them, “Why don’t you guys go check out your cabin? It’s 2C.” She needed a few moments to herself, a few silent moments in the sunlight. The boys didn’t need to be told twice and they bounded off, excited. Nancy grinned as they disappeared around a bend in the path and quickly peeked at her reflection in her car’s rearview mirror, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

\-----

The boys found 2C without any problems and were thrilled to see they had snagged the biggest cabin on the campground, Dustin immediately noting that they’d be able to set up their D&D game without being squished shoulder-to-shoulder like last year. Mike, rummaging through his backpack for his supercom, wouldn’t admit it aloud but he was sure the fact that his older sister was the head counsellor this year had something to do with their living arrangement for the next two weeks.

“Do you think your brother will be here soon?” Mike asked, glancing up at Will who had claimed the top bunk over his own. It was the same set up they kept when Will slept over at his house back in Hawkins. 

“Probably,” Will said, tilting his head off the top bunk, his hair standing on end as gravity took over. “I hope so. I want to play D&D tonight.” 

“D&D?” Lucas echoed with slight disbelief, “I want to use the giant telescope in the observatory. Oh man, I hope there’s a meteor shower at some point and…”

“Lucas, you’ve been yapping nonstop since we left Hawkins!” Dustin complained, “We have the next two weeks to use the telescope!” 

“And we have our whole lives to play D&D,” Lucas retorted.

“Guys!” Mike rolled his eyes, “Do you ever shut up?” 

“Ask Lucas,” Dustin grinned cheekily and Lucas made a face at him.

“Knock, knock!” A loud voice pulled the boys out of their argument and drew their attention, in unison, to the door of their cabin, hanging slightly ajar. Standing there was a tall and slender girl with long red hair and jeans that were faded and ripped at the knees.

“We’re your neighbours,” she stated matter-of-factly, stepping confidently inside the cabin. Behind her, another girl lingered in the doorway. She was shorter with wispy and dark hair, and she wore a pink sundress. “I’m Max!” the red-haired girl continued enthusiastically, “This is my best friend El!” When her name was mentioned, the girl in the pink dress entered the cabin and waved at the boys.

“El?” Mike asked, still looking at the smaller girl. Her gaze turned toward him and she met his eyes with her own. Immediately Mike felt his face flush and he looked at the ground. He was pretty sure he’d never seen prettier eyes.

“It’s short for Elise,” the girl clarified, a small smile on her lips.

“I’m Mike,” he mumbled, “And this is Dustin, Lucas, and Will.” He gestured towards each of his friends in turn, watching as they waved.

“Is this your first year here?” Dustin asked. The boys had been attending Space Camp for three straight years now and they had never encountered Max or El before. 

“Yeah,” Max nodded excitedly, “I’m like _super_ into aliens and—”

“Aliens aren’t real,” Lucas cut in and Max looked over at him with wide eyes. Mike noticed that El frowned at his comment and fixed her eyes on the ground.

“Sure they are!” Max insisted, “The universe is endless. There are _definitely_ aliens.” 

“There could be,” Dustin offered helpfully and Mike had to hide his grin. He knew Dustin didn’t believe in aliens. 

“What about you, El?” Will piped up, still perched on the top bunk, “What are you most excited about?” 

“Stargazing,” El said quietly, “And seeing the planets.” 

“ _That’s_ what I’m talking about!” Lucas nodded enthusiastically. 

The conversation continued for several minutes, El remaining mostly silent, until Jonathan poked his head in the door and let the boys know he had arrived with the rest of their bags.

\-----

“Mike totally has a crush on El,” Dustin grinned maniacally as the boys settled into their cabin after dinner.

“Do not!” Mike insisted, “I don’t even know her. You can’t have a crush on someone you don’t know!”

“Says who?”

“Says everybody, Dustin,” Mike retorted, trying to ignore the heat on his cheeks. 

“Well then why were you staring at her over your macaroni tonight?” Dustin asked teasingly, putting on a face that looked lovestruck. Mike felt embarrassed, knowing that Dustin’s impression was probably all-too-accurate of how he had been looking at El during dinner.

“Will you two shut up!” Lucas rolled his eyes. “We should start planning for the model rocket competition.” He picked up the notebook that was resting on his lap and waved it in the air.

“We have a whole week to do that,” Dustin said, rummaging through his backpack and pulling out a bag of chips, “Anyways, why do you think she’s so quiet? It’s kind of weird.”

“You can be quiet and not weird,” Will muttered from his spot beside Lucas, “Maybe she’s just shy?”

“Nah,” Dustin shook his head, “I bet it’s something else.”

\-----

“I can’t believe you got Steve Harrington hired here,” Barb rolled her eyes as she and Nancy folded bright orange t-shirts with the camp’s rocketship logo emblazoned across the chest. Nancy frowned slightly.

“I didn’t get him hired,” she countered, her tone insistent, “I just told him he should apply! The camp director was looking for someone to bring in more athletics for these kids.“ 

“Sure,” Barb gave her half a smirk, “And it’s just a bonus that you two can sneak out into the woods and make out for the next two weeks.” 

“Barb!” Nancy exclaimed, her face flushing, “It’s so not like that.” Barb opened her mouth to respond, but a knock on the window drew the their attention. It was dark outside, but they could vaguely perceive a shadow on the other side of the glass. Barb glanced at Nancy expectantly, her eyebrows coming up from behind her thick-rimmed glasses. Nancy huffed as she made her way over to the window and pushed it upwards.

"Hey Nancy,” Steve grinned as he stuck his head in the window, nodding in Barb’s direction. “How’s it going Barb?” Barb made a small noise in her throats and offered a strained smile; Nancy could tell it was a struggle for her.

“What are you doing here?” Nancy smirked, returning her attention to Steve. She tried her best to sound annoyed with him but was painfully aware she was doing a poor job of pulling it off.

“I thought we could take a walk,” Steve wiggled his eyebrows, “I brought a flashlight, in case you’re _scared._ ”

“I can’t,” Nancy sighed, “I have to finish putting together the campers’ schedules for tomorrow.” She gestured absently towards her bed, littered with a stack of papers and a pile of unfolded t-shirts.

“Aw, c’mon,” Steve urged, briefly glancing over her shoulder. “Barb, you can take care of that, right?”

Barb didn’t reply, but fixed Nancy with a cold look that could have killed a lesser woman. Nancy couldn’t help but to let out a small laugh.

“Seriously Steve,” she said more firmly, “I can’t tonight.” Steve looked slightly put out, but he relented.

“Fair enough,” he sighed, “But you _both_ have to promise to come by my cabin tomorrow. We’ll chill out after a long day.”

“Sure,” Nancy nodded, vaguely wondering what he meant by chilling out. Steve smiled happily and leaned further into the window and kissed her.

“See you tomorrow Nancy Wheeler,” he whispered against her lips, giving her another quick peck, “But see you in my dreams first.”

“You’re an idiot, Steve Harrington,” Nancy rolled her eyes and shoved him out the window by his shoulders, closing it behind him.

\-----

“I left my X-Men in Jonathan’s bag!” Will sighed, pushing away his luggage in defeat, unable to find the comic books he had been searching for, “I’m gonna go get it.”

“I’ll come with you,” Lucas offered, “Just in case there are _aliens_.” He scoffed slightly, but Will knew his offer was genuine.

“I’ll be fine,” Will insisted, “It’s not far and my mom made sure I put new batteries in my flashlight before I left.”

With a small smile, he slipped on his orange windbreaker and, turning his flashlight on, left the cabin, the wooden door creaking shut behind him. Will hadn’t been gone for more than a minute before Dustin challenged Lucas to an arm-wrestling match. Mike couldn’t help but to roll his eyes as he flipped onto his stomach and returned to the book set open in front of him— _Brave New World_. Lucas would beat Dustin—he always did.

Mike had only managed to get through three pages when the lights in the cabin flickered, twice softly and then dimming into complete darkness for a moment before returning to normal. 

“What was that all about?” Dustin asked, his voice an octave higher than usual.

“Probably nothing,” Lucas replied with a shrug, “We’re basically in the middle of nowhere and the electricity is probably screwy.” 

“That’s never happened before though,” Mike interjected with a frown, setting his book aside. He suddenly had a knot of worry in his stomach. “We should go look for Will,” he said abruptly. 

“Why?” Lucas looked at him sideways, “He said he was going to Jonathan’s cabin.”

“I just—” Mike paused for a moment, “I just think we should. Without waiting for a reply, he rose from his bunk and slipped into the blue hoodie his mom had packed for him. “Are you guys coming?”

Outside it was pitch black, the light from the stars and moon obscured by thick treetops, towering like shadowy monsters over his head. Will gulped, trying to push all the scary moments from their latest D&D campaign to the back of his mind. He thought he heard branches cracking behind him, but continued to tell himself it was nothing more than his imagination. Keeping his flashlight trained on the ground in front of him, Will urged his feet to move faster towards Jonathan’s cabin. 

In his haste, Will didn’t notice a large knotted root sticking out of the dirt and, before he could react, landed with his hands in the dust, feeling the burning sensation of scrapes on his knees. He took a brief moment to recover and catch the breath that had escaped his chest in a shocked gasp before moving to push himself to his feet. 

When he stood, Will was met with a sight he would never have believed possible. Fear coursed through his veins, but he couldn’t scream. He couldn’t even move. 

And then he was gone.


	2. Sunrise

The night air was chilly against his cheeks as Mike stepped out of Cabin 2C and into the overwhelming darkness of the woods. Steeling himself against the fear bubbling in his stomach, he began to march towards the trees but he hadn’t gone more than a few steps before he heard Dustin and Lucas bustle out after him, hissing that this was probably a terrible idea and urging him to turn around. Mike paused and waited for them to catch up, resolute in his plan—not that he had much of a plan.

“Do you even know where Jonathan’s cabin is?” Lucas asked when he and Dustin caught up to Mike’s side. He quickly flicked on his flashlight, accidentally shining it in Mike’s eyes as he did so. 

“Not exactly,” Mike admitted, shielding his eyes, “And can you be careful with that thing?” He continued down the path illuminated only by the pale and garish yellow beams of three flashlights, flanked by his friends. “But the counsellor’s cabins are that way,” Mike continued, vaguely waving a hand in front of him. 

“This is a bad idea, guys,” Dustin whined, letting out a long, low sigh. “We don’t even have weapons.”

“Nothing’s hunting us,” Lucas rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to elbow Dustin in the ribs as they huddled together on the narrow path. 

“That’s what you think,” Dustin whispered back sharply. As they reached a bend in the path, the boys heard the rustling of branches to their left and whipped around, their breath catching in their throats as a tall figure emerged out of the brush.

“What are you guys doing out here?”

Mike let out a sharp breath, the fear that had built up in his chest deflating as he realized it was just Steve Harrington standing in front of them, his arms crossed across his chest and the small smirk on his face just visible in the dim light.

“Lights out was half an hour ago,” Steve continued, lazily brandishing his flashlight in their direction. He recognized the messy dark hair and freckled face of Nancy’s little brother and laughed. “Never took you for the rebellious type,” he grinned in Mike’s direction, trying a joke that fell flat. Mike simply looked flustered.

“We were just—” Mike began, but Lucas cut him off, stepping forward.

“We wanted to check out the stars.” Lucas feigned an innocent little smile, the kind that never failed him when he had to charm his way out of trouble with the teachers at school. Steve nodded and shrugged, the smirk still playing on his lips—he knew that smile; he had practically invented it.

“Lots of time to do that,” he said pointedly, pointing them back in the direction they had come from. Defeated and with no other options, the boys turned on their heels and began the retreat back to their cabin, Steve lingering a moment longer to watch them go.

“What a douche,” Lucas muttered under his breath. 

“Bet you hate that your sister has the hots for him,” Dustin nudged Mike in the ribs and the taller boy shoved him away, face scrunched up in disgust.

“Gross,” Mike mumbled, “And can you focus on Will for just one second? He’s still missing if you haven’t noticed.”

“Relax Mike,” Lucas patted him on the shoulder as they bustled back inside the cabin, “He probably got too scared to come back so he’s spending the night with Jonathan.” 

“I guess,” Mike relented, climbing into his bunk. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was struck with an idea and reached down to the foot of his bed.

“The supercoms!” Mike exclaimed. Lucas and Dustin looked at him blankly from their own bunk for a moment before catching on, their eyes lighting up. 

“Did Will bring his out?” Lucas asked. Without answering, Mike scrambled to the top bunk and rustled through Will’s sheets while Dustin rummaged through his luggage.

“It’s not here,” Mike announced after a moment.

“Not here either,” Dustin added, trying to straighten out the clothes he had strewn about on the floor. 

“So he must have it,” Lucas said, bounding over to Mike and Dustin, “Try calling him.” Mike nodded vigorously and hurriedly set his supercom to Channel 6, the the one they had all agreed upon earlier in the day.

“Will, are you there? Over.” Mike’s voice practically shook with hopeful anticipation. 

The boys waited in tense silence for a moment, but there was nothing but faint static in response to their question. Mike felt deflated and tossed his supercom aside, frustrated. 

“He’s got to be with Jonathan,” Lucas repeated, though he sounded less confident now. Mike and Dustin nodded lamely, an unspoken question lingering in the air. If Will was spending the night with his older brother, why wouldn’t he have called to let them know?

“Let’s just get some sleep,” Dustin suggested quietly, “Lucas is right.” 

The boys each retired to their beds and Dustin put out the lamp with a faint goodnight. Mike closed his eyes, trying to catch sleep as he tossed and turned, hoping that Lucas was indeed right.

\-----

Just one cabin over, El woke with a start, cool beads of sweat on her forehead. She felt a familiar burning sensation between her shoulders and tears burning at the corners of her eyes as she climbed out of her bunk and fumbled around the darkness for the nearby lamp.

“El?” Max’s groggy voice sounded from above her head, “Are you up?” El made a small noise in her throat and heard Max shuffling around in the sheets. 

“What’s wrong?” Max asked just as El switched on the lamp, bathing the room in dim white light.

“Nightmare,” El sighed, sinking back onto her bed, her hands trembling as she worked to slow her breathing and steady her chest. Max leapt down from the top bunk in one swift motion, landing on the wooden floor with a soft thud. She settled onto the bed next to El pulled a blanket from the foot of the bed and draping it over their laps. 

“Another one?” Max’s face was full of concern, “Was it about your dad?” 

“No,” El shook her head weakly and rested her head against Max’s shoulder with a small sigh. Max wrapped her arm around El, patting her arm gently. El flinched slightly at the contact of Max’s arm against the sensitive spot on her back before settling further against her friend. Even though Max felt the flinch, she didn’t mention it. She knew from experience that El was sensitive with physical contact and had always assumed—again, based on her own experience—that it had something to do with her less than stellar home life. At that moment, Max had no idea that by the end of the the week she’d learn there was so much more to it. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Max asked gently. 

“Can we sleep with the light on?” El avoided the question. She had no desire to talk about the chilling details of her dream—if it could even be called such. 

“Sure thing,” Max offered a comforting smile, “We can even share a bunk if you want.” El nodded glumly, wondering if she’d be able to get another wink of sleep that night.

\-----

As the boys shuffled into the mess hall for breakfast the next morning, more than a little bleary-eyed from their late night, they looked around everywhere for Will and didn’t see him—not at any of the tables and not by the small buffet table. Mike, however, did catch sight of El and Max sitting a couple tables over, each with a glass of chocolate milk and both looking almost as tired as he felt. El’s cheek was resting in her hand and she looked upset.

“He’s not here guys,” Dustin said, pursing his lips. 

“But neither is Jonathan,” Mike offered, looking away from the girls and returning his attention to his friends, his voice hopeful. Lucas gestured towards the far end of the room.

“You were saying?” 

Mike and Dustin glanced over to where Jonathan had just come through the double-doors—alone.

“Shit,” Lucas muttered under his breath as Jonathan approached them with a small wave. 

“Hey guys,” the teen greeted them with a grin, “Couldn’t get Will out of bed?” The three boys exchanged quick nervous glances and Jonathan’s eyebrows knit together. “What’s up?”

“We—uh—” Mike began, unsure what to say. 

“We don’t know where Will is,” Lucas cut in abruptly, “We thought he was with you.”

“What do you mean?” Jonathan’s eyes narrowed, his mouth becoming a grim slash. 

“He left the cabin last night,” Lucas continued, “He wanted to get his X-Men—”

“Issue 273,” Dustin chimed in and Lucas rolled his eyes.

“That’s not important.” 

“But—” 

“Guys!” Jonathan’s voice was strained as he tried to refocus their attention, earning sideways glances from passing campers, trays piled high with pancakes. 

“He said he was going to come see you,” Mike continued with the story, “To get his stuff. But he didn’t come back and we thought he just decided to spend the night in your cabin.”

Jonathan took a deep breath in through his nose and fixed the boys with an unreadable look.

“Listen,” he began, struggling to string his words together, “Keep this, uh, keep it to yourselves, got it?” Again, the boys exchanged worried glances. Jonathan raised his eyebrows at them, the bags under his eyes suddenly seeming far more pronounced. “Got it?” Jonathan looked so stressed that none of the boys wanted to contradict him so they simply nodded in response.

“Now, get some breakfast. You’ve got a big hike lined up this morning.” Jonathan tried to smile, but just looked pained.

“But—” Mike began to protest, though it was no use. Jonathan had already walked off to the counsellors’ table at the front of the room where his sister currently sat with Steve Harrington.

\-----

Steve had an arm wrapped loosely around Nancy’s waist as they sipped coffee, chatting about the route they would be using for the hike that morning. Nancy noticed Jonathan approach first, her brow furrowing when she noticed how anxious he appeared.

“Steve, did you see my brother last night?” Jonathan asked tersely, looking at them from the opposite side of the table. Steve looked up from his bacon and eggs, eyebrows knit together in confusion.

“What?”

“When you were creeping through the woods for a chance to get laid,” Jonathan huffed, his tone exasperated. Last night, he had been annoyed when Steve had tied his sneakers and left their cabin, announcing that he was going to see Nancy. But, if he had been out there, maybe there was a chance he had noticed Will.

“Whoa,” Steve stood up defensively, anger flaring across his features, but Nancy pulled him back down, keeping a hand resting on his shoulder. 

“Jonathan,” she sounded slightly annoyed and when she looked at him there was a faint expression of hurt in her eyes, “What’s going on?” Even though she and Jonathan had grown apart in the last several years, Nancy could always tell when there was something grating on her childhood friend’s nerves and though she would never allow it to excuse his rude remarks, she tried to be sympathetic. 

“Will’s missing,” Jonathan whispered, his palms coming to rest on the edge of the table for support, “And Steve _did you_ see him last night?”

“Steve?” Nancy echoed, turning towards him with an earnest look, her face rapidly paling. Will? Missing? Nancy’s heart sped up in her chest. 

“I don’t know,” Steve shrugged, trying to keep calm, “I ran into a few of the kids when I was heading back. Mike was there.” 

“Mike was out o—” Nancy began, but Jonathan interrupted.

“Who else?” he pressed, verging on desperation. 

“Shit, I don’t know,” Steve repeated, voice agitated, “Will’s the little one, right?” Jonathan nodded. “No,” Steve paused and thought for a moment, “He wasn’t there. I didn’t see him.” 

A heavy silence fell for a moment before Nancy spoke up, drawing in a deep breath.

“I’m going to let Barb know what happened,” she said, pushing herself away from the table, “Jonathan, you have to tell Jim what happened. He’s in his office. Steve can you round up the kids for the hike on your own?” 

“Nance, I—” Steve began. 

“Thanks,” she smiled tersely at him, “I’ll meet you on the trail.” She took another breath and looked at Jonathan. “We’ll find him,” she said firmly, “Now go see Jim.” With that she was off, her breakfast sitting forgotten on the table. Steve and Jonathan, alone, headed in their separate directions.

\-----

Jonathan, despite his eagerness to locate Will, wasn’t exactly looking forward to facing the camp director and letting him know that one of the kids had gone missing. His story was familiar to all of the counsellors—and to most of the kids who came in from Hawkins. His daughter had been sick a few years ago, when she was ten. She hadn’t gotten better and he kept the camp running in her memory. Jonathan, amongst others, strongly suspected that he relied a little bit too much on booze which was why the counsellors ended up doing most of the work. With trembling hands, Jonathan tried to forget all of this—along with the thoughts of his overworked mother and how she’d react to this—and knocked on the imposing door to the director’s office.

“Come in,” a gruff voice sounded from the other side. Jonathan pushed open the door and stepped in. 

“Hop,” he said quietly, “We’ve got a problem.”

\-----

Mike had always enjoyed the hike through the woods on the first full day of camp, but it felt different today. He couldn’t stop thinking about Will and was distracted from Steve’s narration of their surroundings, keeping his eyes peeled for signs of his lost friend. With every noise, whether a bird or a settling tree branch, Mike whipped around, looking frantically for some sort of clue. He could tell Dustin and Lucas were doing the same, the conversation between them practically non-existent as they fell behind from the rest of the group.

“Hey, where’s your other friend?”

Mike glanced up from the dirt path he had been staring at and almost walked straight into Max, who had stopped and waited for them, El by her side. “There were four of you yesterday,” she continued, looking at them expectantly. The boys kept silent. 

“Is he sick?” Max pressed on, but El put a firm hand on her arm and Max paused, looking at her friend with a confused expression.

“He’s missing,” El said quietly, her eyes meeting Mike’s, “Isn’t he?”


	3. Backpackers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone reading! I really do hope you continue to enjoy this. I'm having a lot of fun writing it, so please let me know what you think! All thoughts are always appreciated.

The boys had several questions for El but no time to gather their thoughts and ask them. Jonathan had caught up to them on the hiking trail, indicating that Hopper wanted to see them and carting them off before they had a chance to say anything at all to the mysterious, quiet girl they had recently met. Mike glanced over his shoulder as they were led back toward the lodge, but Max and El were already disappearing around a bend in the path to catch up with the remainder of the group.

Once the boys shuffled into Hopper’s office, Mike sandwiched between Dustin and Lucas on a stiff couch, an ominous feeling fell over them. None of the boys had actually ever spoken to Hopper for more than a few moments, neither here at camp nor in Hawkins where he served on the police force. He was much bigger and much more intimidating than any of them. Hopper surveyed the boys with an emotionless face, his eyes tired and his hands looped into his belt. Mike felt as though they were being interrogated and even though he knew they had done nothing wrong he was nervous, his palms turning clammy in his lap.

“Was Will acting strange last night?” Hopper began abruptly, settling back in a chair opposite of them. All three boys began to speak at once, vehemently denying any odd behaviour from their friend. Hopper, unable to make out a single word from the cacophony, silenced them with a raised hand and pointed to Lucas. 

“You,” he instructed, “Sinclair. Was Will acting weird?” 

“No way,” Lucas said, firmly shaking his head, “He was fine.” 

“Maybe he ran off?” Hopper suggested, watching them carefully for any reaction. 

“Like hell!” Dustin exclaimed, sounding offended at the very thought, “He wanted to come here more than anything!”

“He was really excited. And his mom saved up forever,” Mike added for good measure, “He’s definitely missing! And we want to help find him!” The cold and unamused look he received from Hopper in response nearly withered him and Mike sunk back into the sofa, deflated. 

“Nice try, Wheeler,” Hopper said gruffly, eyebrows knitted together, “But you kids are staying far away from this. Do I make myself clear?”

The boys nodded glumly, knowing better than to argue with the man in charge. They’d obey—at least they would _pretend_ to obey. 

“Now,” Hopper continued, “I have a few more questions.”

\-----

With the temperature rising drastically as the day crawled toward noon, the campers were given free time to swim in the lake following their hike. Against the serene blue sky, gleeful whoops and hollers could be heard as young teens flew off the dock and landed with immense splashes in the cool water.

Although Max and El had followed the eager group of the their peers down to the shore, they had no plans to go swimming. Instead, they took a seat in the shade of a large oak tree, their backs pressed up against its ancient trunk, the hum of insects buzzing around them. Max applied sunblock to her arms, left bare by the yellow tank top she wore in place of the bright orange camp t-shirt she refused to acknowledge, insisting that it blended in with her hair too much. Even though she loved being in the water, she knew El wasn’t too fond of swimming and didn’t want to leave her friend alone, especially not when everyone else was swimming. Maybe if those boys came back from wherever they had gone with the counsellor one of them could stay with El while she took a quick dip…

El’s hesitancy to swim went far beyond Max’s grasp of the issue. She wasn’t particularly afraid of water, but she did intend to avoid the lake all summer, much preferring to keep herself protected under her bright and baggy orange t-shirt. Underneath that t-shirt, on the soft spot between her shoulders, El was marked; a series of strange symbols etched into her back, dark blue against the paleness of her skin. Max was the only person she knew—other than her father—who had seen the marks and she had never questioned them. El figured their shared history, having known each other since their days in foster care, made Max—usually so outspoken—careful about the kinds of questions she asked. And even though El trusted Max more than she trusted anyone else, she still wasn’t sure what she would do if her friend ever _did_ ask about those markings.

“Is that boy really missing?” Max asked, adjusting the Yankees cap atop her head and tossing aside her bottle of sunblock. El shrugged and drew her knees up to her chest, staring out at the line of trees on the other side of the lake. After a moment of silence, Max spoke up again. “Are you okay, El? It’s like you’re not having a good time.” There was a slight pout on her face. 

“I am,” El said, “Promise.” She paused briefly drawing her gaze away from the trees and back to her friend, “Can you tell me again about the different galaxies?” El loved when Max talked to her about space. Not only did it make her happy to hear the excitement in her friend’s voice, but it was also her real reason for coming to Space Camp—she wanted to learn more about what had happened to her years ago, information she’d never be able to get from her father. 

“Sure,” Max agreed, instantly brightening up, “And you can braid my hair.” Max knew that El always cheered up when permitted to braid her hair or paint her nails. El had just pulled off Max’s baseball cap when a smug-looking boy in swim trunks surrounded by two friends, taller than him, came to stand over them. 

“Aren’t you coming into the lake?” he asked, an edge of teasing in his voice. 

“No,” Max said flatly without looking up at them, “We don’t swim.”

“Don’t know how?” the boy chuckled, his friends following his lead. “What losers come to camp without knowing how to swim?”

“Why don’t you back off?” Max said in a low voice, her fists clenching. El remained quiet, watching the situation unfold but unsure how to intervene. She disliked confrontation.

“It’s ‘cause you two are the charity cases they let in this year, right?” 

“I said back off.” 

“Or what?” the boy teased, a mean smirk growing on his face. 

“Or maybe I’ll drown you,” Max growled. She scrambled to her feet in one quick movement and the boys took a step back.

“You’re crazy,” their leader taunted just as Steve came rushing over, hair sticking out from under his baseball cap and a towel in his hands. 

“What’s going on here?” he asked, trying to keep his cool while also sounding stern. Nancy hadn’t mentioned there’d be so much drama at this camp when she had told him to apply. It was Space Camp. It was supposed to be for nerds. Nerds didn’t fight, did they? Then again, Steve immediately recognized the dark-haired boy as Troy, the same kid he had caught defacing a tree during the hike. _Little shit._

“She threatened to drown me!” Troy pointed at Max and she stuck her tongue out at him. Steve sighed and looked down at the girl. He briefly entertained the thought that maybe it wasn’t the worst thing in the world if she put that kid in his place. 

“Because he made fun of us!” Max said fiercely. Steve gave a vague nod. 

“Boys, just go swimming,” he gestured the boys away toward the lake and looked at Max again. She returned his gaze with a fiery and defiant glare and he couldn’t help but to laugh. 

“You can’t drown people,” Steve said lightly. 

“I wasn’t actually going to do it,” Max muttered. Steve raised an eyebrow at her and grinned, reaching out and ruffling her hair. 

“You can’t threaten it either, Red.”

\-----

Following dinner, Hopper announced his decision to cancel the nightly bonfire and instead decided that the counsellors would take to the woods to search for Will before it grew too dark. He casually paired himself with Jonathan as they separated into small groups and the two worked their way slowly through the trees, Jonathan with his camera around his beck and photographing as much as possible, just in case. 

“I’m going to drive into town tomorrow to question your father,” Hopper said, breaking the minutes-long silence between them that had been punctuated only by the click of the camera’s shutter. “And to tell your mother.” 

“But—” Jonathan began to protest, immediately looking up at Hopper with something like betrayal in his eyes. 

“She needs to know, kid,” Hopper cut him off firmly. Jonathan didn’t press the issue; he agreed that his mother deserved to know about Will but a large part of him wanted to keep it from her, only to protect her. She was already always exhausted and Jonathan was afraid of what the extra stress would do to her. In a perfect world, Jonathan thought, he’d find Will and no one needed to ever tell Joyce about this. Still, there was one part of Hopper’s plan he didn’t agree with at all. 

“At least let me go see my dad,” Jonathan countered, “He’ll probably bolt if he sees a cop.” 

“I think you should stay here,” Hopper declined, though he didn’t necessarily think Jonathan was wrong, “Help Wheeler run things.” 

“I’m sure Steve’s got that covered,” Jonathan said flatly. Hopper contemplated replying, but refrained. He wasn’t particularly in the mood to be dragged into teenaged drama. 

“Let’s split up for a bit,” Hopper suggested, “I’ll head left and loop back to the lodge, you go right and back to the cabins. You’ll probably meet up with the others.”

Jonathan nodded and wordlessly stalked off into the woods, the shutter sound growing more and more distant.

\-----

“I think we should call it a night,” Steve sighed, “I don’t think the kid—Will—is out here.”

“Steve’s right,” Nancy capitulated, “We’ve been searching for a while and it’s so dark now. We can get up before the campers tomorrow and start again.” 

“Sure thing,” Barb said coldly, rolling her eyes. Nancy pursed her lips. She and Barb almost always got along so well, but Steve seemed to have driven a wedge between them. Barb refused to see that he wasn’t the douchebag jock everyone at school made him out to be and Nancy found herself wishing her best friend would just give him a chance. 

“We can all head back to my cabin,” Steve offered lightly, “I doubt Jonathan will be there, and if he is he could probably unwind a bit.” 

“His brother is missing,” Barb said, her voice flat. Steve winced slightly, realizing the insensitivity of his words just a moment too late. 

“You promised anyways,” he said, trying to reduce the tension in the air, “Last night.” Teasingly he prodded Nancy in the ribs and she giggled.

“Come one Barb,” Nancy urged, “I think we could all use a break after today.”

“No thanks,” Barb replied, “I’m good.” Nancy look put out. 

“Let us walk you back,” Steve suggested, squeezing Nancy’s shoulder, “At least let us do that.”

“It’s fine,” Barb replied, “I’ll see you in the morning Nancy.”

As she continued on in front of the other two, Barb was unimpressed. She figured she’d take the long way around to the cabins to cool her head before settling in for the night.

\-----

“Okay, I say we don’t wait any longer.” 

“He’s right. We need to get out there and start looking.”

The boys zipped their backpacks and slung them over their shoulders as they exited their cabin, taking care to remain quiet. They closed the short distance between their cabin and where Max and El were staying. Mike swallowed and knocked on the door. After a moment, it creaked open and Max stood there in red plaid pyjama bottoms and a NASA t-shirt, a surprised look on her face. 

“We want to, uh, we want to talk to El.” Mike fumbled over his words. Max was quiet; she seemed to be sizing him up, but Mike heard El agree to see them from inside the cabin and Max opened the door wider for the boys.

“How’d you know Will was missing?” Lucas asked abruptly as he entered, staring at El with expectant eyes. She remained quiet, shrinking into her bunk. Max stepped between her and Lucas, returning his glare. 

“Can you calm down?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Uh, no,” Lucas sounded incredulous, “Our best friend is M.I.A. and your best friend knew about it before we told her.”

“Maybe she was just guessing?” Dustin offered from his spot hanging back by the door. Mike frowned as he looked over at El’s troubled face and felt a pang of guilt over the way they were treating her like some sort of criminal. 

“Lucas,” he said, trying to keep calm, “Stop yelling.” Mike paused and looked over at El. “Will is our friend,” he continued “And we’re really worried about him.”

“I’m sorry,” El said, avoiding his gaze, “I don’t know.” 

“You’re our friend too,” Mike ventured, “And friends don’t lie.” 

“You need to tell us what you know!” Lucas exclaimed again and Max rolled her eyes. 

“She said she doesn’t know. Stop being such a bully!” 

“I’m not being a bully!”

“Will you two stop arguing!”

“Dustin, I’m trying to find Will!” 

“Well yelling isn’t going to help!”

“Neither is doing nothing!”

“You’re all being stupid!” 

“Says you!” 

“Stop,” El said quietly, her voice barely a whisper. She could feel the burning between her shoulder blades again and the accompanying fear clawing its way up her throat from the pit of her stomach. But the others continued to argue, their voices overlapping one another and causing her head to spin. “Stop!” she repeated, louder, her hands balling into fists. As the word left her lips, the lights in the cabin dimmed and buzzed before returning to normal. 

Stunned silence immediately followed, words cut off in throats. 

“Holy shit…” Dustin was the first to speak.

“How’d you do that?” Mike asked, his eyes wide and trained on El as he stepped closer to her.

El looked up at him, at the warmth in his eyes begging for understanding and she was lost in their darkness, her mind taking her far back. 

She remembered bright silvery lights amidst the shadows, cool smooth hands on her, and detached gazes from wide and expressionless purple eyes. She remembered falling in and out of consciousness and then a searing pain in her head, right between her eyes. She remembered blood over her lip, its cool metallic taste on her tongue. And then she remembered Papa coming to see her in her room at the foster home and asking her questions about things she had never told anyone. 

“El, are you okay?” A gentle voice and an equally gentle hand on her shoulder pulled El out of her memories. She was slightly surprised to see that it wasn’t Max, but Mike patting her gently, albeit awkwardly on the shoulder. She tried not to flinch—Mike and his friends already thought she was a weirdo. She nodded mutely. 

“Can you tell us what happened to Will?” Mike asked. He could feel everyone else’s eyes boring into him and El. 

“Yes,” she whispered.


	4. All the Shine

It was a Monday when El’s life changed forever. She remembered the evening clearly; the way the rain sounded on the windows as she tossed and turned, the way the cotton sheets felt rough against her skin, the cloying smell of too-much fabric softener lingering in her nostrils, making her desperate for fresh air. 

Sleepless nights like this were frequent and El often wandered to the roof of the foster home she had lived in for the past four years, pulling herself up and out of the bedroom window. That night began just the same as all the others, with El slipping out of bed and to the window quietly so as to not wake Max, snoring softly in the bed next to hers.

With her knees tucked up to her chest, El stared out over the horizon and wondered if she’d ever find a real home and, if she did, would Max find a home as well? She had grown fond of the loud and exuberant girl she shared a room with. Would they be pulled in different directions by new homes? The thought wasn’t one El particularly liked. 

As her eyes flitted across the expansive sky, watching the red blinking lights of airplanes dip in and out of sparse clouds in the darkness, a strange and wavering beam of silvery light appeared in the distance. El watched, curious, as it grew nearer and larger until she felt the light consume her with a welcome chill.

The moments, perhaps hours, after the light had always been foggy. She remembered feelings rather than events. Pain; searing pain in her head, on her back, in between her eyes. Confusion. Doubt. And then fullness in her mind, as though her consciousness had somehow expanded beyond all reason.

She woke up in her bed with Max still snoring lightly beside her and the rain still pattering on the window.

It would have all been reduced to a dream had the mark between her shoulders not appeared and the nosebleeds not started. Perhaps, even then, it could have been a dream. But a week later, a white-haired man arrived on the doorstep of Mrs. Murphy’s and asked to meet the children. He was particularly interested in her.

“Hello Elise,” the white-haired man spoke quietly but firmly as they sat together on the moth-eaten living room sofa. There was something in his eyes that El didn’t trust. “My name is Martin.” 

\-----

“So I think I met the greatest kid in America today,” Steve laughed as he pushed open the door to his cabin, gesturing for Nancy to enter ahead of him, feigning a quick bow as she slipped in past him, through the doorway. 

“Oh?” Nancy grinned, kicking off her worn sneakers. She surveyed the room briefly, noting the tidiness of one bunk and the clutter of the other at the far end of the room. That one was Steve’s. She would have known even without recognizing the striped green polo splayed across his pillow.

“Her name’s Max,” Steve continued, following Nancy towards his bed and hurriedly brushing a haphazard pile of clothes and towels from his sheets to the floor, “That red-headed girl.”

“She’s cute,” Nancy acknowledged, pulling her legs up on the bed and crossing them. “And she’s new this year.”

“She’s hilarious,” Steve chuckled. Slightly flushed with embarrassment, he bent low and reached under the bed, pushing aside the megaphone he had dropped there earlier following the hike. “She threatened to drown that Troy kid.”

“Did you stop her?”

“Eh,” Steve shrugged nonchalantly as he resurfaced with two cans of Budweiser and a goofy smile, “She was just standing up for herself. And honestly, I kind of wanted to see her do it.” Wiggling his eyebrows, Steve held out a can towards Nancy. Shaking her head, she took it and pulled the tab. 

“You’re an idiot, Steve Harrington,” Nancy laughed, taking a quick swig of beer.

“And you’re beautiful, Nancy Wheeler.”

Nancy felt her face flush at the earnestness of Steve’s word and quickly another, longer, sip. It wasn’t the first time he had called her beautiful, but the way he looked at her as the words spilled from his lips, as though she were the only person he’d ever need to see again, never failed to make her heart skip a beat.

“It’s warm,” she quipped, gently shaking the can. Steve laughed and held up his hands in mock defence. 

“We’re in the sticks,” he said apologetically, “Gotta make some sacrifices.”

“This is still nice,” Nancy replied gently, her eyes, hooded by dark lashes, moving up to meet his.

“C’mere,” Steve finally flopped down on the bed and patted the spot directly next to him. Raising her eyebrows playfully, Nancy shifted closer to him, feeling his arm wrap around her waist.

\-----

Wandering through the woods, unwillingly alone and still slightly miffed, Barb was taking extra care not to trip on an exposed root and wishing she had a stronger flashlight. She had never been particularly afraid of the dark—or the forest for that matter—but she had always had Nancy by her side when they had snuck out to the observatory from their days as campers to their days as counsellors. She couldn’t be that mad at Nancy, not when she really thought about it. Nancy had been crushing on Steve for almost the entire school year and that was fine—at school. But this was summer and camp had always been a thing that the two of them did together. That was the frustrating part. But for the sake of getting out of the dark, Barb decided to push those thoughts aside momentarily. Her goal was to find Jonathan.

After another five minutes of wandering through the brush, Barb was relieved to see short flashes of silvery light no more than fifteen feet ahead of her. That five minutes had felt like an eternity. And though the light seemed too pale to be a camera flash, almost too shimmery, it had to be Jonathan. What other explanation could there be?

“Jonathan?” she called out, surprised by the meekness of her voice. She sounded scared. Maybe she was more frightened than she was letting herself believe. “Jonathan! It’s Barb.”

The silvery flashes began to draw closer to her, but Barb received no response. Heart hammering in her chest, she began to back up, her eyes growing wide as a tall figure, unlike anything she had ever seen before, emerged from the trees.

\-----

With a heavy and resigned sigh, El finished her story. Her eyes remained focused on the floor, afraid to look up at the group of friends gathered around her. If she had glanced at them, she would have seen jaws agape and wide eyes staring back at her in disbelief and awe. Instead, El carefully shifted her eyes to the pressure she felt gently squeezing her hand. She hadn’t realized it, but Mike had wrapped his fingers around hers while she had been speaking. A part of her told her to pull away, but Mike’s hand felt warm and comforting and she needed that, especially as Lucas’s stunned voice broke the silence that had enveloped the dimly lit cabin. 

“Aliens?” Lucas sounded suspicious, unconvinced.

“Are you an alien?” That was Dustin, astonished by the tale she had revealed. 

“No, were you even listening?” That was Max, spirited as ever. “She was abducted by aliens.” El looked up at her to see her friend’s bright blue eyes alive with excitement. Max believed; El knew that and she appreciated it. 

“No way,” Lucas shook his head fervently, “Aliens aren’t real.” He pushed himself off the floor and began walking back and forth across the wood-panelled floor, fiddling with the knobs on the radio that had rested on his lap throughout the duration of El’s story. “Will? Will? Are you there?”

“They are real,” El spoke quietly. With a determined look, she stared at the radio in Lucas’s hands. After a moment, it floated from his fingers and up into the air. Gasps echoed in the silence of the room as the rectangle landed deftly in El’s hands. “And they have Will.”

“Holy shit,” Max exhaled loudly, throwing herself back onto her bunk, limbs splayed out, “You have alien powers! That’s so cool.”

“It’s not cool!” Lucas said in disbelief. He opened his mouth to continue, but was interrupted by Mike suddenly standing, El’s hand falling away from his own. He looked deeply concerned, lines furrowed across his brow. 

“Is Will in trouble?” Mike asked, his question directed at El, “Is he going to be okay? How do we find him?”El shrugged, looking away from Mike’s imploring gaze. She was sorry to disappoint her new friends, ashamed that she couldn’t give them any more information.

“The observatory,” Dustin said suddenly, “We could go to the observatory to see if we can find them.”

“Does no one want to acknowledge the fact that she has weird powers?” Lucas raised his voice.

“I’m with Max,” Dustin shrugged, “It’s pretty cool. And maybe they’ll help us find Will. If we go to the observatory.” He punctuated each of the words clearly and pointedly.

“Could that work?” Mike returned to El’s side and softened his voice.

“I don’t know,” El replied honestly.

“A chance to make contact with aliens?” Max sat up in her bunk, “It’s worth a shot. I’m in.”

“Okay,” Mike nodded slowly, “Okay. Let’s do this.” He picked up the backpack he had discarded by the foot of El’s bed and shouldered it. “Let’s go.”

“Why couldn’t they have abducted Troy?” Dustin muttered under his breath, standing and stretching briefly. “He’s such a butthole.” 

\-----

Leaves rustling underfoot, Jonathan continued to snap photographs. He wasn’t even sure why or what it would accomplish. There was no sign of Will anywhere. His stomach twisted at the thought of how his mother would react when Hopper drove out to tell her the news tomorrow. What had happened to his brother? Had he actually run away? Will wouldn’t have done that. Had he drowned in the lake? Jonathan squeezed his eyes shut and tried to push the image from his mind.

A sound drew him out of his thoughts, something that sounded distinctly like his name being shouted. Jonathan called out into the darkness but received no reply; nothing but the faint hooting of an owl in the distance. He was just being paranoid.

Taking a deep breath, Jonathan gathered his thoughts. There was no point in heading back to the cabin he shared with Steve; he knew well enough what was happening there and he had no interest in being there. Instead, he hurriedly looped back to the lodge and made quick work of unlocking the storage shed, pulling out a baseball bat and slugging it over his shoulder. Maybe it was a good thing the camp had decided to incorporate an athletics program this summer. 

It never hurt to be careful when he was going to see his father.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, your thoughts are appreciated!


End file.
